The Lighter Side of Window Treatments

Category Archives: Inspired Home

There is no better way to enjoy the nice sunny weather than with picnics, barbecues, dinner parties, bridal showers and any other excuse you can come up with to get friends and family together to share good food and great company. Check out these easy summer entertaining tips that will have your guest leaving impressed and thinking- how does she do it?

Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Summer Entertaining Outside

If the weather is right and you have the proper amount of shade, bring the party outside. Throw a blanket down, pillows for seats and decorate the table top with wild flowers. This casual dining setting will have guests feeling completely relaxed as they enjoy natures tranquility.

Source: Everyday Food

Summer Entertaining Appetizers

In my many years of entertaining I was completely in the dark when it came to the anatomy of a cheese plate. Typically my approach when creating a cheese plate was- make it look pretty… I it never occurred to me that there was a science behind the presentation of the food but turns out this makes a lot of sense. These appetizers are perfectly complementary to one another in both taste and texture. Organization of these items is key too; you don’t want guests reaching across one another for bread that is on the opposite side of the cheese wheel.

Source: Anythingology

Summer Entertaining Indoors

If it is too warm to entertain outside, bring the outside in. Nothing says summer more than this nautical themed tabletop. What’s especially great about nautical theme is that it is completely gender neutral and can be used for really any event, from a bridal shower, to dinner with friends. While you’re at it, if you’re entertaining indoors you’re going to want to make sure your home is looking its best…

Source: 3 Day Blinds

Summer Entertaining Update Window Treatments

A quick and easy solution to giving your home a little update before having guests over is new window treatments from 3 Day Blinds. Take your dining room from drab to fab in a jiffy. You don’t want guests to be distracted by your disheveled and broken blinds or outdated draperies. 3 Day Blinds has lots of window treatment ideas for your dining room that will be the perfect solution to updating your home before entertaining this summer.

Source: A Night Owl

Summer Entertaining Dessert Bar

Make guests departure from your gathering extra sweet with this adorable ice cream bar. Buy a few different ice cream flavors and an assortment of toppings and voila! This is exactly what guests will be craving on a warm summer day or night.

Regardless of the event you will be throwing this summer, hopefully these tips from 3 Day Blinds have inspired you to entertain family and friends this summer.

Do you desire a home with beautiful plants inside but can’t seem to find the time to maintain them, have you tried a terrarium? Well, one of the most popular garden trends of the season are terrariums. Terrariums are the perfect complement to any room in a home and they are so great because they can be inexpensive, easy to build and maintain. Here are a few terrariums that have inspired many looking for that dash of greenery in or outside the home.

Photograph credit: Drew Kelly for The New York Times

Terrarium Table Top:

Who wouldn’t want one of these gardens-under-glass sitting on top of their desk or coffee table? A couple of glass containers, soil, a few small house plants and you’ve got yourself an adorable table top decoration.

Photograph by: Amanda Wright from Wit & Whistle

DIY Terrarium Kit:

This would make an amazing affordable gift, and even a adorable party or wedding favor. This DIY kit would include a mason jar full of rocks, and a small card with instructions. The recipient would just need to add spoil and a few plants!

Photograph by: Amanda Wright from Wit & Whistle

Hanging Terrarium:

This handing terrarium teardrop would look great mounted within a windowsill or hung anywhere in your home. A unique glass canister filled with a few small plants transforms these everyday items into an eye- catching piece of art.

Photography by: Country Living

DIY Terrarium Greenhouse:

Give your plants a place to call home while decorating yours! All you’ll need is a few picture frames, hot glue and some white paint and you can create a mini greenhouse for your ferns, orchids and other small plants. The only thing this home needs is a few blinds and shades to give these plants a little more privacy!

Whether you’re hoping to decorate your home or use terrariums as party favors, I hope these ideas inspire you to bring these gardening trends into your home.

There are so many appealing elements in this kitchen it’s almost impossible to pick just a few.

To start off, there is nothing more attractive then a white kitchen. This space looks so clean, bright, and cheery. On the other hand, what makes this kitchen feel warm and inviting is the rich cedar flooring. Pairing a white and cedar gives this room a wonderful balance and is truly eye catching.

The next element of this room that is particularly desired in any kitchen is, that is multifunctional- both a kitchen and dining area. In a shared room like this, many people struggle deciding how much space to designate to a dining area and how much should be for the kitchen. This kitchen designates about 70% to the kitchen and 30% to the dining area. You know what that means, cooking heaven. There is so much counter space in this kitchen and yet the dining area doesn’t feel crammed.

Last but certainly not least, what really polishes off this rooms look are the bay windows. For some people this style of windows are too traditional. To update this look I would add woven wood shades- cape cod whitewash. That way the natural sunlight can still stream in but the room appears to have a more polished and finished look.

While dinner parties are a time to dine over good food, good drinks and good company, some people find hosting them to be a daunting task. Many hosts are overwhelmend by the process and think, where do I even begin! All these hosts need is a little inspiration to get their creative minds flowing. Whether your party will be inside or outside, small or large, these ideas can be just the spark to helping you plan your dream dinner party.

Photography by Philippe Cheng

Garden– Having a dinner inside but still wanting to embrace the Spring time? Bring the outside in! This elaborate garden table setting is phenomenal. Moss and other shrubs are the base this centerpiece, and meshed in are wild flowers, leaves and tea candles. Nothing says spring more like light pinks and warm greens.

Photograph by The Decorista

Glam– This dinner party look takes the term black tie quite literally. Napkins folded into bowties, paired with black metallic place settings makes this table simply glamorous. The gold silverware and textured balls are the perfect pop of color that complete this classy look.

Photograph by Real Simple

Recycle- These chalkboard place mats are so fun, easy and reusable. Guests of all ages will love this and be entertained with a game of tick-tack-toe or hangman.

Photography from Pinterest

Outdoor- With the sun staying out longer and temperatures warming up outdoor dinner parties are the way to go. This centerpiece is so easy yet magical. Start with a few large candles and sprinkle vases of wild flowers about the table and you can’t mess this look up. Outdoor dinner parties are supposed to be eclectic and give you the rustic feel.

Photograph by Luxesource

Bold- If you love fun colors and patterns and want to make a lasting impression on your guests, this is the look for you. A simple burlap tablecloth with a neutral flower arrangement is all you need if you have dishes that are this fun and exciting. Your guests will be so delighted by this look they won’t even notice the casserole you burnt– just a little.

This blog post is dedicated to the 13.4 million people working from home, a number that has soared 41% over the past decade. That doesn’t mean you necessarily have a room designated as a home office or work area. That’s why this work space is so inspiring, it not only transforms a small corner of a home into a motivating work environment, but it’s multifunctional.

With tons of desk and storage space, any professional can work productively in this environment and the best part is, it’s completely kid friendly. Store kid’s craft supplies and other home items in drawers below the desktop and use the upper shelving to house anything work related. Even with all the functional elements of this space it achieves a homey feel with all the personal touches, like the framed photos, pinboard and other wall fixtures.

While everyone loves the idea of having natural sunlight stream into their work space it can be extremely frustrating when it creates a glare on your computer screen. For this space I suggest adding Woven Wood Shades-Morocco Spice, to control the flow of sunlight into your work space making it a functional yet comfortable work environment. Tell us how you make your work space functional at home.